Peter Coleman-Wright AO, Co-Artistic Director
Australian Peter Coleman-Wright AO is widely considered one of the most versatile singers in the world today. His career has taken him to the great opera houses and concert halls of the world, most notably with Royal Opera Covent Garden, the Met in New York, ENO, and Paris collaborating with world-class conductors and directors.
He is a frequent guest with Opera Australia, with whom he has sung Onegin, Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva, Chorebe (Les Troyens), Orestes (Iphigénie en Tauride), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande), Germont (La Traviata), Billy Budd (MO and Green Room Awards), the title role in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd (Helpmann Award) and the seven baritone roles in Death in Venice (Helpmann Award), Mandryka (Arabella), Pizarro, Balstrode (Peter Grimes) and Macbeth (Macbeth).
Peter has sung all over Europe most notably at La Scala Milan, La Fenice Venice, Munich, Netherlands, Paris Bastille and Garnier, Bordeaux, Geneva and Teatro Colon Buenos Aries, as well as the festivals of Bregenz and Aix-en-Provence.
His concert repertoire has taken him to Finland, Iceland, Spain, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Holland, the United States, and Oman.
He has performed throughout Britain with all the leading orchestras, in the major European capitals, at New York’s Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls and is a frequent performer with the Australian Symphony Orchestras.
His engagements include Glanert’s Caligula at the Teatro Colon and in concert at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with the Dutch Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, the first-ever performances of Britten’s Death in Venice in Moscow under Rozhdestvensky and Brett Dean’s Last Days of Socrates with both the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (under Simone Young), Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (under Gustavo Dudamel) and Powder Her Face (Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and Warsaw).
Most recently Peter sang the role of Sir Danvers Carew in the 25th anniversary touring production of Jekyll and Hyde.
Awards include an Art Music Award - Performance of the Year for The Last Days of Socrates by Brett Dean. Peter was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours. Peter also holds an Hon. Doc. from Melbourne University.
Cheryl Barker AO, Co-Artistic Director
Cheryl Barker AO has established a distinguished Operatic Career throughout the UK, Europe, USA and Australasia.
She has performed for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Paris Opera, Nederlandse Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, National Opera du Rhin, De Vlaamse Opera, La
Monnaie, Opera Holland Park, Reis Opera, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Minnesota Opera, Vancouver Opera, Taipei Opera, Opera Queensland, Opera Australia, State Opera of South Australia, Opera New Zealand, Victoria State Opera and Western Australian Opera.
Her many roles have included the title roles in Jenufa, Tosca, Suor Angelica, Madama Butterfly (Mo Award performer of the year), Manon Lescaut, Rusalka, Arabella and Salome (both for which she won green room and Helpmann awards), Adrianna Lecouvreur, Francesca di Rimmini, Hanna Glawari in Die Lustige Witwe, Katya Kabanova, Maria Stuarda.
Other roles include Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Mimi in the award winning Baz Luhrmann production of La boheme, Violetta (La Traviata), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Antonia (The Tales of Hoffmann), Giorgetta (Il Tabarro), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Marschellin (Der Rosenkavalier), Madeleine (Capriccio), Chrysothemis (Elektra), The Governess and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw), Desdemona (Otello), Musetta (La Boheme), Marie (Die Tote Stadt), Salud (La Vida Breve), Jenifer (A Midsummer Marriage), Micaela (Carmen), Emilia Marty (Vec Makropoulos), Marzelline (Fidelio), Oksana (Christmas Eve) , Kate (Kiss me Kate). She created the role of Sarah in Jake Heggies Opera The end of the Affair for Houston Grand Opera. Gertrude in Brett Deans Hamlet She has appeared in concert at Londons Wigmore Hall, The Barbican Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Konzerthaus Wien, Koningin Elisabethzaal Belgium, at the Brisbane, Melbourne, Spoletto Festivals, The Australian Festival of Chamber Music and with the SSO, QSO, MSO,WASO.
Recordings include Puccini Passion, Pure Diva (Melba Recordings), Seduction & Persuasion, Don John of Austria, Beethoven 9 (ABC Classics), La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier OA (CD & DVD) Madama Butterfly, CD of Great Operatic Arias with the LPO, Katya Kabanova, Quo Vadis, Rusalka, Makropoulos Case (Chandos), Madama Butterfly (Belgium and
Netherlands Television) Madama Butterfly opus Arte.
Cheryl was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours and also holds an Honorary doctorate of Music conferred by the Melbourne University. Cheryl Barker is currently Head Voice Teacher at the Australian National University School of Music, Canberra and Co-Artistic Director of Pacific Opera.
Bradley Gilchrist, Music Director
Bradley Gilchrist completed a Bachelor of Music at the WA Conservatorium of Music, and post-graduate studies in accompaniment and piano performance in Sydney and Madrid.
Bradley has numerous concerto performances to his name including the Khachaturian Concerto with the WA Symphony Orchestra, the Grieg Concerto with the Slovakia Philharmonic Orchestra and Beethoven’s First and Second Concertos with the Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra. Bradley has given solo and chamber music recitals across Australia and in South Korea, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Bradley has broadcast two solo programmes for the ABC Young Australia program. Bradley enjoys chamber music and has performed in a variety of ensembles but has specialised in piano trio and flute and piano duo repertoire.
As repetiteur, Bradley’s early interest in ballet repertoire has extended to opera and has been repetiteur for many of Sydney’s chamber opera companies as well as being in demand as an accompanist and vocal coach for auditions, recitals, examinations and concert performances.
Eun-Jung Byun, Repetiteur
Born in South Korea, Eun-Jung Byun is an accomplished musician who has already established herself in the Australian music scene as a leading member of the new generation of professional collaborative pianists. She is currently a staff member for the Collaborative Piano, Voice and Opera division at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Performance, both majoring in piano accompaniment, from the University of Sydney, where she recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts on the development of Korean art song based on poetry from the Japanese Occupation Period (1910-1945).
A member of the Accompanists' Guild of NSW, Eun-Jung has performed with many leading Australian and international performers and has also appeared in prestigious concert venues in Australia and abroad such as Sydney Opera House, City Recital Hall, Sydney Town Hall, Australian House in London, Sejong Performing Arts Center, Seoul Arts Center and Youngsan Art Hall in Seoul.